Darquesse's Decision
by Bad Ass Blye
Summary: What happens after Darquesse leaves Skulduggery and China? Is Valkyrie really gone? If not, what remains of her personality? What control does she have over herself? Will she destroy the world? The time may come when she needs to make a decision. But which one will do it, and what will it be? Who will influence her? (fletcherie, follows canon until the end of LSoDM)
1. Clothing

**Clothing**

It was dark outside. It was one of those nights when common, ordinary people stayed in, tucked under a blanket on their couch, watching TV, snuggling. But then again, Valkyrie had never been common or ordinary. And neither was Darquesse.

So, as they sat in one of Dublin's many rooftops, she contemplated the dark night. It was beautiful; it was her friend; it was…

_WOW! Getting a little too poetic, aren't we?_

_Yeah… we kind of sound like Caelan right now._

The old Valkyrie, the one that was still pretending to be good, would have pretended to feel bad about that comment. This new one just laughed. Darquesse liked new Valkyrie.

Because she had lied to Skulduggery. Valkyrie was still there. She had just changed. Not her personality… that was intact. She still cared about her family. Her friends. But she had embraced her inner self, and she had never felt so good.

You know, for a psycho.

She felt… she felt too good to go back to being just Valkyrie. It would crush her. Because she was too selfish to ever give up that level of freedom and power and importance.

She thought back to the conversation she'd had with Fletcher when they'd broken up. He was right. She _was_ selfish.

New Valkyrie felt something twitch in her stomach, which had not happened since she had become whole with Darquesse.

_Why are we thinking about Fletcher? _She didn't answer. _Valkyrie! Why are we… wait a second… do you… do we have feelings for Fletcher? Oh me! – Get it, 'cause we are as powerful as gods? No? Not laughing? Ok, your choice. – Valkyrie! Do we have feelings for Fletcher?_

_Of course we do; he's our best friend, especially since China and Tanith are out of the picture. Not to mention Ghastly._

…_I thought Skulduggery was our best friend. _

_Well, yeah, but he's like… over four hundred years old, he doesn't count._

_And yet you mentioned Ghastly, who is also over four hundred. I don't know how old China really is, but I'm guessing not too much younger. And Tanith isn't exactly our age either… _

_Well… she looks young. Skul doesn't._

_Riiiiiiiighttt… 'cause there are young-looking skeletons. Val? You realize that you cannot lie to me, right? I mean, I __**am**__ inside your head, remember? All those questions were mere formalities. _

_Well? Would you care to share your conclusions, then? _

_You already know it. You just can't admit it, can you?_

_Why don't you do it for me? Do I like Fletcher or not?_

_Yes, you do. But you already knew that. As you so well pointed out, he is our best friend. What you really want to know is if you love him._

_We dated for two years. We've been through that already._

_Yeah… but you didn't love him._

_I did too!_

_You did not._

_I did too!_

_Val…_

_Right, right. Inside my head. Sorry._

_The point is: you liked him back then. He was hot. _

_He still is._

_Yeah, I know, did you notice that he has been working out?_

_God, yes, he has. Remember when we caught him in a towel?_

_Yeah, those were some abs… and those arms… ok, focus here!_

_Right, right… focus._

_So: you liked him, he was – he is – hot, so you went along with it. You liked to kiss him. You liked to hug him. You liked that you were his whole world; you liked that he smiled whenever you showed up and that he was always there for you. It was never like that with Caelan. I mean, you broke up with him __**because**__ of that._

_Yeah, but I also broke up with Fletcher._

_Because he was making you feel bad. And besides… you didn't have this perspective back then. You didn't have me. Now…Well… you have me; you have perspective… and you finally love him._

_But he doesn't want me anymore. He was with Myra, for our sake!_

_Ah! I knew you couldn't resist it._

_Yeah, it was kind of funny. But seriously, now, he is over me._

_No, he isn't. _

_Yes, he is._

_You don't believe that._

_Yes, I do._

_Valkyrie! Will you please just cut the crap?_

_Fine, but what does it matter? He won't want me like this._

_Excuse me? First of all, we are a team: so he doesn't want us; second… _

_What? What is second?_

…_yeah, I've got nothing._

_Great; just great._

_Now, hold on, there. If you feel bad, I feel bad, you know that._

_Thanks, but that doesn't exactly cheer me up._

_No, Val. I think you're getting stupid. We share our feelings just as we share our thoughts, remember?_

_Oh, right. I'm not stupid, by the way._

_Yeah, I guess deep down in my heart I know that…_

_Shut up… so what do we do now?_

_Well, we win him back, of course._

_Yeah… yeah, you're right. We can do this. _

_Sure we can; I mean, we killed faceless ones, we battled Nefarian Serpine…_

_Twice. We battled him twice._

_Yeah, right; we fought against remnants, vampires, and god knows what else. _

_We know what else._

_Not funny anymore, Valkyrie. _

_Yeah, I know. Just felt like annoying you._

_Really? You really are stupid._

_No, I'm not. I'm funny._

_If you say so. Where was I? Oh, right. We got our freaking head out of our body.__** We will not**__ chicken out over a boy. It will be a piece of cake. Cause let´s face it: what isn't, for us?_

_Yeah… let's get going, then._

She stood up.

_Hey, Val?_

_What?_

_Well, he really __**did**__ seem to like those belly dancers, but I don't think that going to him like this is a really good idea._

_Right. We're still dressed like a bride of blood tears. Guess I forgot about that…_

_Come on, we need some new clothing. _

They flew towards the mall, arms spread out like Superman. Valkyrie laughed, clearly having fun. She would never get tired of this. Darquesse smiled.

_Then we can go get our guy._


	2. Shopping

**Shopping**

_Hey Val? _

_What?_

_What do you think Skul will do? You know, to try and catch us?_

_Honestly?_

_Well, duh…_

_Anything._

_Yeah. Do you think he would kill us?_

_You? Definitely. Me? Not so sure._

_Yeah, well, let me rephrase that: do you think he would kill you to kill me?_

…_I don't know._

_Hum. Ok._

They kept on flying and Valkyrie just enjoyed the wind in her hair. But it was a small trip, so it ended rather quickly.

_Come on. Off shopping we go._

Valkyrie rolled her eyes at that before Darquesse started again.

_You know, we never did talk about Ravel._

_He deserved it._

_Yeah, no arguing there. But they still think I did it. You also saved China, so there's that too._

…_you're point being?_

_Are you going to tell Fletcher?_

_I don't know._

_Ok. I get it._

They flew past the food hall and into Valkyrie's favorite store.

_So, black? _

_Do you really need to ask?_

_Well, we __**are**__ fully dressed in red._

_Point taken._

They flew towards the jeans' showcase and Valkyrie examined a pair of skinny dark ones.

_Argh. If we hadn't left Ghastly's clothes in that damn witch's hole we wouldn't have to go through this!_

_Yeah… I wonder if they found them._

_Well, maybe they did and we can get them back._

_I sure as hell hope so._

Valkyrie pulled the jeans on; they weren't all that bad. She was choosing between a black tank top and a grey one when she spoke again.

_Hey Val? _

_What?_

_I've been thinking for a while about this… idea of sorts._

She put on the grey one and reached for a black leather jacket.

_Well, let's hear it._

_Do you remember when, hum… Armaggedon brought back Kitana and the others? You know, after we killed them._

_Oh. _

_Yeah. I was just wondering._

…_it's been a while._

_Yeah, I know._

_He did it minutes afterwards the…_

_Yes._

_I wouldn't even know where his body was._

_Right. What about remnants? _

_Wow. When did you suddenly became Ms. 'I like helping others'?_

_Since we joined completely that I've been having more… friendly thoughts, per say._

_About resurrecting my friends?_

_Our friends. And disentangling them from a remnant. Yes._

…

_What? No comeback?_

_We'll have to research. _

_I know._

_Practice._

_Extra power and knowledge? You already made your sale, Val._

Valkyrie shrugged her jacket on.

_But that can wait, right?_

Darquesse chuckled.

_Alright, Val. Let's do this_

**A.N. – Yes, yes, I know that it's been like, forever since I updated and that this is a very short chapter, but I had zero inspiration. Also, I took a look at the statistics and hell, 99.99% of the people who read this didn't review. Or follow. Or favorite. Come on guys, reviews make everybody happy. Even if this isn't exactly your cup of tea, I would still like to know what you think of it and if you see ways that I can improve this story I'll be happy to take a look at it. Also, it'll make next chapter come longer and sooner :)**

**In the meantime, I would like to thank PierDreams, my 0.01%, for her awesome review ;)**

**Bad Ass Blye**


	3. Irreplaceable

**A.N****.- ****Hey****guys! It's really late but I wanted to drop this off for you since it's been so long, so if any sentences seem incoherent it's the sleep talking, k?**

**I really want to thank those who reviewed/favorite/followed this story, you all have a special place in my heart :D**

**Sophie Quinn: yes, it is Darquesse and yes, there will be violence, you mustn't worry; we're just not quite there yet, but we'll get to it, I promise :)**

**As EmeraldSpirrit8 so well pointed out (thank you again ;)), the lines in Val's head were getting kind of confusing, so Val's lines will be bold and Darquesse's lines will remain the same. **

**Oh, I forgot to do this btw: **

**Disclaimer: I am not the golden god nor do I own any of these characters, I just like to mess with them for fun :P**

**Enjoy, please!**

**Bad Ass Blye**

**Irreplaceable **

_**Shouldn't we've picked something sexier?**_

_You chose the outfit, Val._

_**Yeah, I know.**_

_Relax. It'll be fine._

_**Right. Ok.**_

They stopped at the end of the building they knew Fletcher was staying at.

_Eighth floor._

_**I know.**_

Flying up, Valkyrie kept the wind out of her hair using elemental magic. Darquesse snorted.

As soon as they arrived Valkyrie grabbed the window shill, pulling herself up afterwards. She set foot on the apartment and realized she was at the bedroom, the bed right in front of her, across from the light-wooded dresser. It had few decoration and she could see he hadn't even bothered to try and make it a home: he hadn't even brought his TV!

Then she heard the shower running; looking around, she spotted a door in the wall opposite from her, which should lead to the bathroom. She inwardly took a step towards it.

_I _really_ don't think walking in on him in the shower would be the best way to make our entrance._

_**Right. I'll wait.**_

She sat herself down on his bed, playing with the sheets. She hadn't been in a bed for so long! Soon she found herself sprawled on it, belly down and elbows keeping her up.

_Val!_

_**What? I'm comfortable here.**_

"Hey, Steph. I thought you'd gone with Skul."

She immediately sat up.

_**What?**_

Turning around, she could finally see him, in boxers only, pulling on some jeans and with his back turned to her.

"What?" she repeated, this time outside her head.

"Yeah, you called last week saying you were starting the… hunt." His voice cracked a little and she cocked her head to the side; hunt for what? He grabbed a shirt from his drawers and turned around. She looked at him as he lifted his head, only to drop the white piece of clothing he was holding.

"Y-you… what are you doing here?"

"That's not the important question!"

"What the hell do you want?!"

"I want to know why you bloody called me by my given name!"

"Oh, I'M SORRY! I guess you would prefer being addressed to as holy mighty highness Darquesse now, wouldn't you?" sarcasm was dripping from his every syllable, but she also noticed the hurt in his voice and in his eyes.

"Fletcher…"

"NO!" he screamed, and she jumped back. The British boy struggled with his words.

"You… you're not her."

"Oh, but it's okay to pretend my reflection is?" she suddenly screeched, jealousy, anger and hurt cursing through her voice.

He looked surprised.

"What?"

"Isn't that what she's going with now? Stephanie? Is it normal for you to find her in your bed often?"

"What are you… what are you suggesting?"

But she was on an angry spiral now, and refused to stop, taking a few steps further as if to find more of him to yell at.

"Is that all I ever was to you? A thing? I'm gone and you just replace me, easy like that, huh?"

Fletcher took two steps forward, anger boiling out of him clearly as well.

"Quit playing your stupid mind games, Darquesse!" he roared. "Valkyrie is irreplaceable, and you god damn well know that! And yet you stole her away from me! So don't you dare lecturing me for missing her and trying to put all the shit together in my head, and don't you even THINK about pretending to be her again!" 

_Well, he seems to like me, don't you think?_

But Valkyrie's part of the mind didn't listen to her, for it was focused on one word only: irreplaceable. And the fact that Fletcher Renn had used it to describe her. A very shirtless Fletcher Renn, she noticed.

Next thing she knew it, she had pushed him into his bed and was straddling him, arms around his neck and lips crashing against his.

She could feel him tense beneath her for a moment before trying to push her away; she would have none of it: instead she pressed harder and managed to slip her tongue into his mouth.

He groaned and suddenly his hands came upwards, roaming her back frenetically as he kissed her back, tongues clashing.

She didn't know how, but someway her leather jacket found its way into the floor right before he flipped them over, pressing her down with the weight of his body. He moved his lips to her ear and then her neck, his mouth working wonders on her all the way, making her shiver and moan quietly. Her hands found themselves tangled in his blond spikes, bringing him closer for another passionate kiss.

Breathless, he rested his head in the crook of her neck, inhaling deeply before a sound that vaguely resembled a whimper came out of his mouth.

"Please… please give her back."

Valkyrie remained silenced, as did Darquesse.

"I need her… and it was all my fault, I got myself caught and then she…"

He was almost sobbing now.

"Please… take me. Take me and leave her, please…"

He hugged her harder, caressing her sides with his palms.

"I-I… please don't take her. Please… please don't take her."

"Oh, Fletch…" she mumbled, kissing the top of his head and caressing his hair.

_We'll need a lot of research to learn how to fix this…_


	4. Explanations

**A.N. – I know this is short, but I have exams next week and so I don't know when I can update, so I wanted to drop this off for you guys; besides, I find the little cliffhanger in the end quite fitting ;P **

**Please review and let me know what you thought :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skulduggery Pleasant, then this couple wouldn't have broken up :(**

**Enjoy!**

**Bad Ass Blye**

**Explanations**

"Fletcher…"

"Don't… don't." he inhaled sharply once again and seemed to regain some of his self-control. "I don't want to hear it."

He separated himself from her and got up, raising his hands to run them through his face and hair, letting the air out slowly.

"What do you want, Darquesse?"

_He really is clueless._

_**Yeah, well… we kind of told everybody I was gone, so…**_

_Right… how do you want to do this?_

…_**I was hoping you knew!**_

_What?! Why me? I can't do that!_

_**You can do everything and yet you can't talk to guys?**_

_Not really my area; sorry Val, you're on your own. _

"Great." She mumbled; Fletcher was still looking at her. "Fletcher, I…"

"What's going on with your eyes?"

"…What?"

He came back to kneel in front of her, still sitting on the bed. He frowned.

"They get darker and then they get back to normal, and darker again."

_What's he on about?_

"There." He pointed out, before whispering quietly, sounding hopeful and terrified at the same time. "Valkyrie?"

_He can see me?_

_**Apparently so.**_

She took a deep breath and raised a hand to caress his cheek. He cringed, but she held on.

"Kind of the opposite."

His eyes widened and he took a step back.

"You're lying."

She got up, trying to get closer again, but he kept walking backwards.

"I'm not! Please, Fletcher, you have to believe me…"

He shook his head.

"You told Skulduggery she was gone."

"You have no idea of just how wrong that sentence is."

_Maybe we should show him._

_**That's… not a good idea.**_

_Oh, Val; you thought of it, remember?_

"Valkyrie?" he looked panicked; her eyes must have been a mess.

_**Don't do anything stupid…**_

_You can take over any time you want._

_**But I…**_

Valkyrie fell to the ground; or at least it felt that way.

And then Darquesse stood.


	5. Introductions

**A.N. – Hey, so I wrote this really fast, part of it during a class and another one now in my bed; my exam is tomorrow and I needed a stress relieve…**

**Anyway, please enjoy :)**

**Bad Ass Blye**

**Introductions**

"Hi."

Fletcher frowned; he'd caught her when he'd seen her fall, holding her in his arms, worried more out of instinct than anything else; come on, you see the girl you love fall down and you don't stop to think if it's really her or a mass murderer wearing her face and body, right? You just grab her.

And there she was, in his arms, smiling. But it wasn't just that.

"Your e-eyes…"

She slowly put one of her arms around his neck, her seductive smile widening.

"I was surprised you could actually see me. I don't think even Skulduggery could."

_**Would you kindly let go of him, please? And STOP that! **_

Fletcher's eyes widened once more. Darquesse chuckled.

"Oh, and you can see Valkyrie too?" She asked, sounding pleasantly surprised, her other hand sliding up his arm. Great, his attention was back on her.

_**Quit it**_!

_Geez, Val, relax…_

Darquesse removed her arms from around him and stood up.

_**Thank you.**_

The poor boy looked like he was going to burst in a ball of smoke.

"Sorry about that. She's a little… possessive."

"Y-you are…"

She raised a hand to her mouth in an almost convincing 'ups!' moment.

"Oh, where are my manners?" She extended her hand out to him. "We haven't formally met, yet. I'm Darquesse."

He made no move whatsoever, standing there, frozen.

"You know, smoking hot goddess who kills the world and is currently living in your ex-girlfriend's body? Can reattach her head, grow new limbs, turn people inside out and still look good while doing it? Does any of this sound familiar to you?"

Fletcher kept looking at her like she'd just appeared out of thin air.

"Guess not." She muttered, clicking her tongue against her mouth and removing her hand.

He finally seemed to be able to form coherent words.

"So V-val…"

She touched her finger to her head and smiled.

"Up here. But you already catched up, didn't you?"

_**If I'd known you were just going to flirt with him, I wouldn't have left you out.**_

_Oh, come on Val, let me have my fun!_

Darquesse smiled and turned back to Fletcher.

"We're just getting started…"


	6. Surprise

**A.N. - *hides under a table* oh my god I am so sorry… I know I haven't updated this in forever… almost a year… I suck. But I'm improving! I want to keep a steady update rhythm from now on, and I promise I'll do my best! You can check out my updating schedule on my profile page.**

**Anyway, I just wanted to give everyone a heads up because this capter is a little more… suggestive than the others. Aaaaand chapter 7 has violence (finally!). I know this isn't particularly long but I'm slowly easing myself back into all my stories, so please be patient with me alright? I still love y'all! Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Bad Ass Blye**

**Surprise**

Fletcher backed away slowly, his face growing wearier with each step.

"What the fuck are you playing at?"

Darquesse hummed and smiled at him.

"Did Valkyrie ever tell you how much she loves your accent?"

**_Oi!_**

The boy blinked and narrowed his eyes, but it only prompted her to laugh.

"It's true, she does." She paused and smirked. "So do I, actually. It is incredibly hot."

**_I'm with him, what the hell are ya doing?_**

Fletcher shook his head and sat back down on the edge of his bed, gritting his jaw and glaring up at her.

"Cut the bullshit,"

Darquesse's lips stretched out in a playful smile. "Oh, and here I was thinking you would love to get your hands on information like this, Fletch"

His glare was unwavering. "You're playing me. Skull warned me you could try. She's not there."

Darquesse hummed. "Oh, he did now?" He nodded, swallowing hard.

"If you believe that, you just see me." She tilted her head then walked closer to him, purposefully swaying her hips.

**_You need to stop._**

_And you need to chill for a bit. You got some, why can't I?_

**_Oh don't you fucking dare._**

_Why not? I'm you, remember? You're gonna have to share._

**_That's…. that's not how it works._**

_No? How about we let him pick?_

Darquesse leaned forward and placed both hands on the blonde's knees, smiling widely. Fletcher gulped.

"So tell me… you think you could handle me, Fletcher Renn?

The boy blinked and exhaled slowly. "Get off of me."

She only smirked and widened her eyes in mock innocence. "Oh, but I was planning on getting off _on_ you."

Fletcher blushed slightly and cleared his throat, dropping his eyes to the ground. Valkyrie was swearing and admonishing her in her ear, but she shut her off as she leaned forward and tilted his chin up before brushing her lips against his lightly.

He let out a gasp of surprise and she smiled, using this to push him down on his back on the bed then pulling her top over her head.

"Bet he didn't warn you about that, now did he? He shivered and unconsciously licked his lips. Darquesse smirked and climbed slowly over him until her face was directly above his and her hair enclosed them like a curtain, then she leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to his collar bone.

He groaned. "Don't… don't."

Darquesse smiled sweetly and shushed him with a finger to his lips. She traced the outline of his mouth with her finger then looked back up at his eyes before teasing his ear lobe between her teeth and whispering quietly. "Why not?"

Fletcher sighed and his eyes closed before his hands came up to rest on the back of her thighs. "You're not her."

She smiled and glanced at his hands over her shoulder. "Well I'd say I'm close enough… wouldn't you?" Not waiting for an answer she leaned back down and trailed her lips down the side of his neck, feeling him shiver again and smirking.

But then Darquesse's smirk fell and she stopped abruptly, growling lowly. Fletcher's eyes shot open and he frowned. "What?"

She didn't answer… at least not to him.

"Hello Skullduggery."

A.N. - So? What did you think? Please leave a review, they're great motivation :)


	7. My jacket

**A.N.- What is this? An update? *le gasp* I'm sorry you guys I am not keeping as steady a rhythm as I would like, but, ya know, school :/ anyways… VIOLENCE! FINALLY TO THE GOOD PART! And there is more to come in the next chapter, but for the meantime, let me know how you feel about this one with a review please ;)**

**Love y'all**

**Bad Ass Blye**

**My jacket**

_**Oh shit. Oh shit, shit shit.**_

_Val, calm down._

_**Calm down? They have the scepter.**_

There was no answer and Valkyrie groaned.

_**That could kill you! It could kill us god damn it!**_

Darquesse ignored her and rolled her eyes, getting off of Fletcher and rolling around on the bed until she was on her back then raising a brow at the skeleton across the room. "What? No hi?"

Skulduggery remained perfectly still, but his thumb pulled back the hammer on his revolver, and the resulting click echoed through the room. Darquesse ignored the churn in Valkyrie's stomach at the action.

She tilted her head and stared at him for a second before shrugging. "Fair enough."

Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she got up, her hand reaching back for her top. A smirk played on her lips as she her gaze shifted to Stephanie, who had the scepter aimed right at her head, then back to Skulduggery. "Can I at least put this on? You are kind of interrupting."

Stephanie was openly glaring at her now, and Fletcher looked extremely uncomfortable. Darquesse smiled.

_**Don't poke the bear!**_ Valkyrie whisper yelled.

_The bear tried to kill you, killed your cousin and is takingover your life, Val. _

She sighed. _**Yeah, I don't like the bear either.**_

Darquesse glanced between the skeleton and the reflection then pulled the top on over her head, smoothing her hands down the edges and commenting nonchalantly. "Those are mine, copycat."

Stephanie blinked and tilted her head, but kept her aggressive stance, scepter in place and ready to fire.

Darquesse lifted her gaze, but it was aimed at Skulduggery instead, and her voice had a slight accusatory tone to it. "You let her have Val's clothes?"

When he didn't answer, Darquesse sighed and dropped her head back down, taking a deep breath as if to calm herself.

"Fletcher…" he whispered, and he snapped his head back up at her, looking almost ashamed.

"Val, I'm sorry…" he muttered softly, and she shook her head, but Stephanie let out a screech before she could speak.

"Fletcher, it's not her!"

Darquesse flinched slightly and set her with a glare. "Shut up. Fletch?"

The boy's gaze travelled between the two of them, who were in the middle of a heated glaring contest, before hesitantly calling out. "Yeah?"

Darquesse blinked, her gaze switching to him, and she smiled slightly. "It's fine. I understand why you did it. Do you remember that time you took Val ice-skating?"

Fletcher nodded slowly. "Yeah, in…"

She spoke over him, throwing a look at the skeleton across the room before fixing her gaze on the boy in front of her again. "Put on a shirt and go there. Tell no one where you are. I'll come get you soon."

Stephanie's eyes lit up in recognition and she snorted. Fletcher bit his lip and reached for his shirt, pulling it on over his head. Walking up to her the blonde slid a finger under her chin and tilted her face up to look into her eyes.

_Val, speak._

_**Huh?**_

_He wants to see you, idiot._

_**Oh, right. I'm here I guess… Stephanie also knows where that is, ya know that right?**_

_Yes. We'll take care of that._

Darquesse raised a brow and Fletcher nodded, swallowing slowly before pressing a quick kiss to her forehead. He vanished the next second.

Stephanie was positively fuming. "Who the fuck gave you the right–"

Darquesse snarled and curled her hand, and a shadow tendril hooked itself between the reflection's hand and the scepter before she pulled harshly on the other end.

The golden piece slid across the apartment floor until it hit the wall under the bed. Stephanie narrowed her eyes, pulling her shock stick from behind her back.

"No, copycat. I have every fucking right." Darquesse hissed, taking a menacing step towards her. "You took her clothes, her family, her house, her partner, her guy and her life." Her gaze shifted to the detective, who had yet to utter a single word. "And you let her."

Since they both remained quiet, she pursed her lips tilting her head.

"How's Ravel?"

He tilted his skull upwards slightly and whispered quietly in that velvet voice of his. "In pain."

_**Good. **_

Darquesse nodded and let a small smile brush her lips for a moment before clearing her throat. "China?"

"Grand Mage Sorrows is fine. She'll be better once we're done with you.

_**Nice.**_

_They are, aren't they? _Valkyrie snorted.

Darquesse shook her head and raised a brow.

"Did you bury them?"

He stiffened, and she held up her hands.

"You can't."

"I didn't say anything–"

"I tried."

She blinked. "Oh. Well in that case…"

Valkyrie screamed as she dashed forward, driving a low kick at Stephanie's legs quickly, making the other girl fall to the ground with a scream. She immediately straddled her bacl, throwing the shock stick away and grabbing a fistful of her hair, slamming her head face first against the floor before flipping her around and repeating the motion with the back of her head.

She got up and off the unconscious girl, barely glancing at her more than likely broken nose before taking a bullet to her shoulder and another grazing her neck in the process.

She winced slightly and looked at Skullduggery; he said nothing, the only sound being the bullet shells hitting the ground.

"Sorry. She knew the place I sent Fletcher to. Needed to quiet her before she spilled. She'll be out cold for a while but she'll be fine. Well, maybe with a concussion."

Smiling, she reached for the other girl and pulled her jacket off, sliding it on and sighing happily. "Much better."

The skeleton tilted his head and she grinned.

"Don't give me that look, Skull. I know you missed me." She winked and rolled up her sleeves, summoning shadows in both her palms. "You ready to catch up?


End file.
